Another quarter and another record breaking set of numbers for Manhattan and Brooklyn real estate.

The boom of the luxury and super high end condos have pulled the average price of a Manhattan apartment to an all-time high $1.81M and also helped trigger a rise in inventory with the sales commencements of several high profile New Developments across the borough.

Brooklyn also gets its share of records with the average price per square foot breaking a 7-year high to reach $704/sf. The historically low inventory has risen over the last quarter but in proportion far from the levels that a market requires to reach equilibrium.

In addition to the traditional Corcoran Manhattan and Brooklyn market reports, this newsletter will touch base on the current relationship between Manhattan inventories, price level and the effect of New Developments in the borough. To follow, the impact of Global Wealth and its potential contribution to New York Real Estate along with the consequences of China’s economy will present data that could help developers keeping their cool in regards to the rise in super high end properties hitting the market. Finally, Brooklyn’s alarming lack of inventory may show a swift in current developers’ strategy to anticipate a change of plans and bring more products for sale quicker than expected to feed a demand starved of choices.

I truly hope that this newsletter will be beneficial and informative while shaping your future real estate plans. Please feel free to contact me should you want to consult on your real estate projects.

I hope you are having a great start of 2015 and wish you great health and success for this exciting new year!

2014 has seen several records shattered in many market segments and locations. A recap of the Manhattan Q4 2014 report is bringing new insight about what moved the market over the past 12 months with some perspective on the current level of inventory.

With the upcoming of about 6,500 new units on the market (almost 50% already in contract), I also found it necessary to talk about the concept of New Developments, explain what they are, and which segments of the market they’ll be affecting in the next year.

Finally, Brooklyn’s sellers’ market is becoming more and more challenging to navigate with a highly competitive pool of buyers, increasing prices, low inventories, and only a few New Developments scheduled to hit the market. (Brooklyn Q4 2014 included)

I truly hope that this newsletter will be beneficial and informative while shaping your future real estate plans. Please feel free to contact me should you want to consult on your real estate projects.

The area below Chambers street defined as the Financial District has experienced a tremendous transformation since the 9/11 attacks, which plunged the area into darkness for almost a decade. Subsequently, the residential, commercial and retail booms have revived the area with more to come.

In the early 2000’s, the area attracted renters in quest for a better bang for their bucks. The 24/7 full service doorman building lifestyle has its perks and despite the limited nightlife options at the time, the 10 subway lines available within 5 min walk from wherever you stand in the Financial District allow residents to quickly exit and be in the hottest nightlife spots or commute to work within minutes. Then, the real estate boom brought top of the line condominiums to the neighborhood such as 20 Pine Armani Casa, which was the first cross marketing condo development pairing a fashion designer with residential real estate. It was and still is a success.

The commercial landscape changes happen upon the 2008 financial crisis when the neighborhood witnessed many firms closing their offices, downsizing or simply relocating. Similar to the residential boom, non-typical Wall Street companies in need of more space for their money started to migrate to the area and enjoy class A building near a major transit hub. Ad agencies, tech and media firms among others have now replaced financial firms. The new World Trade Center also anchored a major tenant Condé Nast acting as a snowball effect since most of his midtown located vendors are now looking to move near the new headquarters. Proximity remains an important factor to maintain efficient relationship.

The retail has been the biggest challenge and is now seeing the expansion this area needs in order to become an all-star venue for locals and visitors. As mentioned in my May 8th 2014 Blog, Brookfield place along with the gallery under the Oculus will bring the most prestigious fashion brands and eateries to satisfy a demanding local clientele who often have to shop outside their neighborhood to find quality products.

With so much going on, real estate developers have been able to move forward with stalled projects by securing additional funding, that precedent events froze. Luxury condos are already in the area, but ultra luxury are not…yet. With land prices fetching $900 to $1000/sf and development costs reaching the $600-$800/sf for a decent product, a developer starting a project with these constraints would have to sell at $3,000/ft to see the risks worth the reward. To create a better spread one could look at either searching for a cheaper acquisition or reducing construction costs. The latter one is harder to handle with rising labor and material costs that a developer can’t always control. The first one is where developers can get creative and search for alternatives (i.e: cheaper) sites to build in, on or upon. It is definitely worth the challenge – keeping in mind the high demand for ultra exclusive and luxurious New York Real Estate. We can find a good illustration of this strategy by looking at Alchemy Properties project involving the Woolworth Building.

Located at 233 Broadway, the Woolworth building is a National and New York City historic landmark designed in the neo-gothic style by Cass Gilbert and built in 1913. It consists of about 58 stories reaching 792ft (241 meters) in heights that earned it the title of the tallest building in the World from 1913 to 1930. In 1998 the building traded hands for $137.5M to a partnership of Witkoff Group and Cammeby’s. Most recently, Alchemy Properties bought the top 30 floors totaling 106,000sf for $68M, or just about $640/ft. The price point is great, but the quality and uniqueness of the product acquired is even greater. The site is classified National landmark, boasts original and historical details that traditional new developments can’t replicate. Looking at the unit mix below, the development will offer 34 units (33 + 1 Penthouse).

The average ppsf excluding the penthouse is expected to fetch around $3,440/ft. The crown jewel will be the 8 level (Floor 50th-58th) Penthouse dubbed the Pinnacle (see floor plan below). The Penthouse is asking over $11,000/sf or $110,000,000, one of the priciest listing to ever hit the Manhattan market. The plans currently show the Penthouse as a 3-bed 3-baths with 3 powder rooms. The more than 4,700sf contains between the 50 and 51st floor will host the dining and living rooms. The subsequent floors will be arranged to have media room, library and an observation deck among other luxury features. Naturally, a private elevator will help navigating this 8-story sky-high mansion.

Last year I covered the residential, commercial and residential expansions of the area below Chambers Street covering three distinct neighborhoods: Financial District, South Street Seaport and Battery Park City. We can now observe significant changes and an even more positive outlook for the years to come.Residential Q1’14 vs Q1’13 figures look very healthy. Condos average ppsf increased by 25% to $1,106, and the median price by 36% to $968K. The increasing demand for larger units (3-bed) with an average price that amplified by 30% to $2.350M is partially responsible for driving the prices upward. New Developments with 225 Rector as a Star product following by the W Downtown (pic below) and 75 Wall Street have a ppsf that increased on average by 30% to reach $1,391/sf and a median price who increased by 48% to $1,214M.

Once stalled mixed-use luxury condo/retail developments such as 50 West Street is finally going up after securing a $400M debt/equity deal mid2013. The Top 30 floors of the iconic Woolworth tower are being converted into condominiums that will average over $3,000/sf. The Four Season hotel and residences on Church and Barclay Street is under construction (below) and 22 Thames Street is slated to become the tallest residential tower in Downtown.

Knowing that the cap of residential construction has been reached in BPC, and the Financial District residential inventories have dropped by 42% in the past year, these developments will help accelerating the residential life in the neighborhood.The retail activity and prospects are showing signs that very few New Yorkers could have ever imagined just a couple of years ago or even months following Sandy: on the Battery Park City side, Brookfield Place $250M renovation is revamping the entire market place of the World Financial Center (see rendering below) and is now connected underground with the World Trade Center Path Train Station and Fulton MTA transit center. Le District, a French food marketplace is slated to open later in 2014, along with Umami Burger.

On the other side of the highway, Westfield, who owned the retail space of the WTC recently announced the signature of Eataly at 3 WTC, which follows high end designers (Breitling, Canali, Montblanc) setting up retails next to the 17,000sf Victoria Secret store in the 365x115ft long main hall known as the Oculus (see bottom pic), described as “an elliptical fish-tank-like area with a movable glass eyelid on the ceiling”. Tom Ford, Tiffany and Armani are also eyeing space at 3 WTC

The commercial landscape is also transitioning: the high rent and low vacancy rate of Midtown and Midtown South have pushed startup firms in need of quick, cheap and efficient set up to the Financial District that has been deserting by financial services and is now being invaded by tech, media, and Internet companies. Several drivers have pushed to this direction. First, the MTA Fulton transit hub converges more than 10 subway lines which will facilitate the commute of the many Brooklyners employed by these creative companies. Second, the price of $52.49/sf versus $66.24/sf for midtown south combined with flexible workplaces is an attractive feature. Also, some tenants are acting as magnets such as Conde Nast’s media empire who has taken over 1 million sf of office space at 1 WTC, the hot ad agency Droga5 who settled on 90,000 sf and collaborative space provider WeWork who took over 300,000sf on Wall Street. Finally the area has 20 new hotel projects under construction which will bring about 1,700 rooms to facilitate tourism and business travelers’ needs.

Following my MBA at NYU Stern, I was a blessed graduate with a secured job at one of the most fascinating brand and company I could ever thought working: Ferrari.
Cars have been a passion of mine since my youngest age, and being welcomed to the exclusive world of Ferrari felt awesome. While the experience there was phenomenal, my entrepreneurial spirit pushed me to shift gear and focus my career into my other passion: Real Estate.

A few months into my new role at the Corcoran Group, the #1 residential real estate firm in New York, I fancied the idea of bringing the most exclusive brands of Real Estate and Cars together. This leads me to organize cross marketing events between Corcoran and Ferrari & Maserati, while partnering with an exclusive agent with a very high end listing at a location convenient for cars to be driven, guests to be entertained and connections to be made.

Local dealerships of Ferrari of Long Island and Maserati of Manhattan under the lead of Marketing and Event manager Laura Fisher provided cars and professional coach drivers. Guests were able to test-drive the cars to fully experience the ride prior to relax and mingle at the property.

My first event happened at a fabulous Gramercy Park North Penthouse with 2 terraces over looking the city and Gramercy Park, only a few blocks from the highway and Park Avenue for the cars to be driven. The guests came in and celebrate this first day of Fall under a radiant sunshine and friendly atmosphere.

My second take happened on Sunday October, 27th, 2013 during a beautiful crisp fall day which could not make things any better. I co-hosted the event at Richard Meier’s 165 Charles Street tower where agent Jon Capobianco introduced his $12.7M full floor listing. Guests were able to get an exclusive preview of the apartment and enjoy test-driving Ferrari and Maserati on the West Side Highway. About 50 people attended this event, and the dynamic was very positive. After test drives, invitees relaxed and mingled at the apartment over Peroni beers, Proseco, and finger food. It was a great venue and a wonderful opportunity for people of various industries (Private Equity, Energy, Tech, Entertainment and Social Media) to meet.

There are more events in the pipeline, and I would encourage any one who shares and lives the passion of luxury real estate and cars subscribing at fmaingois@corcoran.com for more information.

It would be too simplistic to call him a New York real estate Mogul, as his contribution to the Manhattan skyline has gone beyond the principles of acquisitions, divestitures and development.

Initiator of the Apple Store development on 5th Avenue, Harry Macklowe has been significantly involved in the expansion and ownership history of many Manhattan iconic skyscrapers: the GM building, the Metropolitan Tower, Park Avenue Tower among others that have forged the inimitable and ever evolving Midtown Manhattan skyline.

After a few noticeable luxury residential developments such as 310 East 53rd Street residences (2006), 777 6th Avenue rental building (2000) or the 145 East 76th Street boutique condominium (1999), Harry Macklowe has been moving forward in the recent years with the very top end of what condominium developments could bring to the Manhattan undersupplied luxury market.

New York’s architectural and design diversity applies to luxury real estate in a way that could satisfy a wide range of international high net worth individuals’ tastes and demands. I spent the last 10 years educating myself and getting acquainted with the most lavish additions to the Manhattan luxury condominium market. My understanding of the most demanding international clientele’s requirements and preferences helped me perceive value into most of them. That said, being raised in France and living in renovated 19th century bourgeois apartments and a remodeled residential compound in the heart of Provence, I grew up developing a taste for authenticity and minimalism, while supporting the fact that these two should be concurrent with our time. To that extend, the feeling of walking into a place that portrays authenticity while being contemporarily designed and providing the functionality of modern living finally happened when I first entered 737 Park Avenue (pictured below courtesy of http://www.737parkavenuenyc.com) and 150 East 72nd Street (http://150east72.com), two of Harry Macklowe’s three very high-end condominium developments in the work (the master piece 432 Park Avenue being the third one http://432parkavenue.com). The fineness of materials, the rightness in the proportion each room takes, the natural flow of the apartments’ layouts; Harry Macklowe brings a concept that is triggering a renaissance in the Upper East Side high-end residential real estate. Established in a neighborhood dominated by hard-to-get-in co-ops subject to stringent house rules and tenacious boards that would leave some of the richest people at the doorstep, these 2 condominium options are an ineluctable alternative for wealthy local and international clientele who desire to own on Park Avenue, a location many consider as the world’s most exclusive place to reside.

Following Harry Macklowe’s fashion to develop ultra luxurious condominiums, I had the feeling that these 2 projects at 737 Park Avenue and 150 East 72nd Street were to be an interlude to 432 Park Avenue (@56th Street), the soon-to-be tallest residential building in the Western hemisphere. Barbara Russo graciously led my visit of the sales gallery. I could not have been in better hands to walk through the mid-century key inspirational events and symbols that have contributed to the conceptualization of 432 Park Avenue. The model goes beyond a meticulous choice of materials and splendid layouts topped with incredible amenities such as a 75ft pool, 300 people guest room and winter garden, private wine cellars, and a restaurant exclusive to the residents. Indeed, 432 Park Avenue integrates a one of a kind New York living in a dream experience that each room brings in its own way. For instance, the “bathroom in the sky” let the residents bathing with an unobstructed view of the sky and Manhattan, or a marble bar installed against the window brings the concept of “breakfast with a view” to a new level (from 341ft to over 1200ft literally). The thoughts, works and execution behind 432 Park Avenue optimize the convergence of luxury, functionality and exceptional design.

Manhattan is home to many Real Estate titans whose developments often reflect their master’s character, vision, or ideal. Looking at Harry Macklowe’s lifetime achievements, the reflection shines integrity, vision, passion and precision. Mr Macklowe has and will continue maintaining the authenticity of New York while accompanying it to the future. Merci Monsieur Macklowe…et encore s’il vous plait.